A Rose for Berenice
by Little Brittle
Summary: Berenice has an irrational fear of flowers, but she will not let her fear and death keep her apart from true love. A fairytale inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat", "The Oval Portrait", and "Eleonora".
1. Entombed Beauty

**Entombed Beauty**

A knight from a victorious battle stopped by a pub

Where he met a drunken man singing an odd ballad.

It was about his wife as a witch whom he first loved.

But her dark arts terrified him that he wished her dead.

The witch finally died when she gave birth to a girl.

As the years went by, she looked more like her mother.

Then, the drunken man started laughing manically.

He told the knight that he feared the witch returned.

And so, he took his daughter to her mother's tomb.

He left her there in the dark and shut her forever.

The knight ignored the foolish tale and went away.

Before the sun set, the knight had reached the hills

Where the grass embraced crosses and headstones.

Out of the grim silence, a cry of help echoed in the air.

It came from a lone hill near a forest of shadows.

Below the hill, there stood a sepulcher of green marble.

On the door, there engraved the name of Asenath

And inside it, there screamed a damsel in distress.

The knight opened the huge door with all his strength.

With the light of the setting sun, he then saw her.

She was sitting on top of a coffin, crying, shivering.

Yet, her beauty still shone amidst the repulsive gloom.

The knight reached out for her to get out of the dark.

Yet, she wouldn't. The roses surrounded her she said.

They came from the shadows and joined her prison.

They were crawling about, prickling, sniggering, hissing,

Foretelling her doom inside that tomb…with them.

This is how powerful and deadly the imagination is.

Seeing that her fear wouldn't let her come to him,

The knight went inside and brushed away the roses.

I am Sir Leander. There is nothing to fear anymore.

Then, he carried her outside to the light of the sun.


	2. Laughter of Jesters

**The Laughter of Jesters**

Sir Leander and his fair lady arrived at the palace.

Before they went to the king's court for the festivity,

He asked the servants to never present flowers.

Hence, the nobles were shocked to miss their scent.

Then, Sir Leander entered with his armor and sword.

His comrades were worried that he will never make it,

But he showed them the maiden he rescued, Berenice.

Everyone in court was captivated by her beauty.

With her, there was no need for the colorful flowers

And the ladies-in-waiting to adorn the whole gala.

They all surrounded her with fine smiles and curtsies.

Yet she was so timid that they thought she was mute.

She stood stiff insecurely and stared at her admirers.

As the rule of courtship, they were presenting her ROSES.

Then, her beauty was gone at the moment she shrieked.

She ran hysterically back to her dear knight's embrace.

They all found it sad, but one duke found it amusing.

What kind of person would be frightened by these?

He jested as he strewn the flower petals around.

The other nobles then realized it was indeed funny.

The duke then grabbed the trembling dame away.

Into the garden the playful nobles took her for a game.

There she saw hundreds of flowers in full bloom.

Horrible was their sight that panic overcame her.

Yet those malicious people would block her way,

Swaying posies and putting garlands on her head.

There was so much terror beating in her heart until

She collapsed. The heartless laughter also fainted,

Except of that duke who dragged her to the garden.

He continued mocking how pathetic she became.

But, the knight who loves her only carried her away.


	3. The Evil Cat's Eye

**Evil Eye**

Sir Leander kissed his fair lady a good morning.

But her eyes didn't open. She was still sleeping.

It's been weeks and the poor knight was morose.

Yet, his sadness suddenly became vengeful anger.

The flowers, the game, the hilarity and that duke!

If my love won't wake, then shall will you, m'lord.

And so, in the darkness of the night, blood spilled.

Sir Leander returned to his chamber and found

Berenice awake, but from another nightmare.

In her dream was a crone crying over a dead man.

She looked at me, said Berenice, and cursed.

Sir Leander, now driven with guilt and remorse,

Knew that crone was the duke's old consort,

Rumored to be a witch and indeed she was.

At dawn's break, the knight and his lady left,

And back to his father's manor they resided.

That summer bloomed with roses in the garden,

But their love for each other burned all of them.

Then one grey afternoon, Berenice was strolling

Through the courtyard until she heard a mewing.

It was a cat as black as ebony hiding in a shrub.

Berenice took care of the adorable little thing.

But Sir Leander wasn't so fond of her new pet.

He felt something malevolent from the cat's eyes,

Something luring his beloved away from him.

Then one night, after another loveless embrace,

Sir Leander took sips of rum by the fireplace,

Pining for Berenice and cursing that black cat.

To his surprise, he heard it mewing behind him.

Looking at its eyes, he felt he wanted to pat it.

Yet when he leaned down, it leaped to his face

And scratched his eyes until his blood spilled.

When the cat left him yelling in pain on the floor,

Sir Leander took his sword and went to chase it.

Though his vision was blurred with his blood,

He could see the black wicked thing in the halls.

He could see it descend down the damp cellars.

He could see it just standing in the shadows.

Then, he heard the sweet voice of his Berenice,

Telling him to stop and leave her dear pet be.

But in a passion, Sir Leander killed the black cat.


	4. Dead But Conscious

**Dead But Conscious**

Berenice found herself in a dark and dreary hall.

She was lying on the floor with a black puddle.

She felt cold, numb, as if her heart had stopped.

Then, she heard steps descending towards her.

'I believe the smell came from down the cellar.'

'Well, we have to get rid of it before our master

Return and before his son's wedding, y'know.'

Berenice tried to yell yet her mouth didn't open.

She tried to stand yet her limbs failed to move.

Then, candles appeared and showed how red

The puddle on her face was. It was her blood.

'Oh, dear Lord, have mercy! What is this thing?'

'I think, oh God, is it a corpse? What do we do?'

'We have to throw it away. Throw it to the river!'

'But should we tell Sir Leander first?' 'No, we can't.

He might accuse us for we are mere servants.'

Then, Berenice felt she was being carried along.

With an empty gasp, she realized she was dead.

She was put in a box floating down the stygian river.

As she lay still, the stars twinkled and cried for her,

A soul who will never reach their heavenly abode.

When the moon was upon the zenith of the sky,

Berenice felt her casket had reached a shoreline.

Lithe trees swayed without the breeze of the night,

And the water reflected on them a dance of light.

The view was eerily beautiful and serenely somber.

Then, flying among dew-dropped leaves was a fay.

By the scent of her wings, Berenice regained breath.

She stood up and found herself on a lone river isle

Carpeted by soft grass that illuminated like opal.

As she stepped on the soil, her shadow fell from her

And was swallowed up behind in the dark water.

"Another lost soul, are we?" spoke the gentle fay.


	5. A Blind Love

**A Blind Love**

Sir Leander took another sip from his silver cup.

He touched his eye then removed the bandages.

He rubbed both yet everything was still a blur.

The cat did this to him yet he regretted its death.

Berenice stopped talking to him since that night.

She stopped seeing him as he couldn't see her.

That morning, his father and mother arrived,

Excited with the news that he had found a bride.

But none in the manor saw his Berenice again.

She had run away for the death of her dear cat.

Yet, in the following night, Sir Leander heard her

Singing in the opera with her enchanting voice.

He took her back to his father's manor at once.

'I know what I had done was atrocious and grim,

But, my darling Berenice, please be mine again.'

Suddenly, he felt her honeyed kiss upon his lips.

She was quick to forgive him and rekindle their love.

Though he was blind, hearing her voice was enough.

One morning, Sir Leander woke up by a certain scent,

A scent he missed since Berenice came into his life.

'They are flowers, Leander, the most beautiful creation.

Your garden should be full of them now that I'm here.'

Sir Leander knew this was very strange for Berenice.

But he promised to love what she loves from now on.

To show this, he had started painting a portrait of her

Bordered by flowers, even if his vision was still vague.

While Berenice's flowers bloomed more, days passed

Until Sir Leander finished his painting and presented

The face he remembered of her. But she was shocked

To see the maiden on the portrait wasn't her at all.


	6. ManyColored Grass

**The Many-Colored Grass**

Berenice sat underneath the serpentine trees

And gazed down the river that brought her there,

'So, tis the life after death, stuck with my body.'

The fay sat on her head and sighed with her,

'Not unless you are blessed to rest in peace.'

'Can I go and see him again?" she asked the fay.

Moved with pity, the fay twirled and glittered.

'Lie down on the colored grass,' she did say.

Berenice stretched out on the enchanted soil,

And saw nothing but the grass enclosing her.

The fay told to think of something for her soul

To possess and soon she'll find her Leander.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself

In a stall on the streets of the town square.

A little boy grabbed her yet she couldn't move.

'Well, this is a big golden apple you have, Clare.'

Berenice was then sold and carried to a crowd

Where a herald announced the wedding date

Of the heroic Sir Leander and Lady Eugenie.

The boy then saw no more of the apple he ate.

Berenice found herself back in the isle of the fay.

And cried for the loss of her dear Sir Leander.

She lied down again and focused hard within.

And no sooner had she possessed a brown mare.

'That painting of his is delaying our wedding day!'

Berenice heard the young woman say on her back.

The old man on the other horse just heaved a sigh.

Then, Berenice suddenly stopped on her tracks.

She made a mad dash, letting the woman fall over.

She then came back screaming on the fay's place.

'Flowers! Daisies, lilies, roses! They are everywhere.'

'Why must you fear them, my dear?' asked the fay.

'Evil things! They know I'm coming for my Leander.'


	7. Optical Illusion

**Optical Illusion**

Eugenie groaned in pain as the doctors tend to her

Broken legs after her horse had suddenly gone wild

Upon reaching the flower gardens. It was such a pity.

But she will smile when she will see her dear Leander.

She ordered her servants to take her to his gallery,

But instead she screamed with all soprano upon her

portrait. That isn't me, my dear Leander. Who is she?

Leander sat there, confused, blurred and saddened.

You don't like it, my love? This is what I envision,

It's what I remember of your blossoming beauty.

This is you… Leander then stared at his masterpiece,

And rubbed his weak milky eyes…. my dear Berenice.

Eugenie burst to tears that her blind love had another

Woman, a Berenice, and he had mistaken her for her.

Oh, Love! Tis as blind as eyes scratched by a cat!

Leander didn't stir as she sobbed away from him,

With her broken legs and her broken heart of gloom.

And indeed, he never stirred from that spot. He just

Sat there, an artist enchanted by his work, in love.

He looked so lifeless but his painting was so lifelike.

And the more he stared at it, the more the clouds

Cleared from his eyes, until one calm rainy night,

He realized he could see it clearly, and everything

He could see again with all colors and contrasts.

Then, he heard the voice he had fallen in love with.

He ran towards the singing damsel, only to see it

Wasn't her, his Berenice. Eugenie stopped her song

And everyone else looked at him. "You're not her!"

Leander blamed her for deceiving him all this time.

Before Eugenie could defend her innocence and

Confusion, Leander stormed out and demanded,

"Where is my Berenice?" No one could answer him.

Leander then went out into the calm rainy night.


	8. Reunited At Last

**Reunited At Last**

The lovely Berenice lay on the many-colored grasses,

Closed her eyes, and this time, she had seen her love.

She found herself on a canvass, on an oval portrait.

But there were many flowers painted all around her.

She would have screamed in fear, but seeing Leander

Smiling so lovingly, so tenderly at her, she would not

Think of anymore terror to ruin this perfect moment.

Berenice tried to reach out to him, but she couldn't

Move, just stared and smiled at him who's oh so close!

Then, one calm rainy night, Berenice heard the fay

Calling her to come back to the many-colored grass.

Berenice bid her Leander goodbye and miraculously,

Her soul was able to reach out and touched his eyes.

Berenice woke up back to her lifeless body and found

Her self drifting with the river's current in the rain.

She called out the fay, but she could not leave the isle.

Yet with a sway of her wand, the fay blessed her luck.

A torrent fell down from the dark clouds, as if they're

Welcoming our Berenice into the underworld beyond.

But amidst her watery hell, she had seen an angel. He

Plunged into the ranging river and swam towards her.

It was Leander! Like the hero swimming the Hellespont.

The violent waves tried to separate them but their

Embrace was stronger. It was as strong as their love!

And soon, the night became calm again and the two

Reached the shores of Leander's home. He rejoiced

For the many miracles granted that eventful night.

He looked at his Berenice, but his smile faded down.

Still in his arms, he found his true love already dead.


	9. A Rose for Berenice

**A Rose for Berenice**

Leander stood before the beautiful ebony coffin.

He was as silent as the grave and much depressed.

Eugenie appeared and offered a bouquet of flowers.

But he tore the flowers in anger and walked away.

His father went to him to talk about the wedding.

Leander had before unwittingly chosen Eugenie.

If he deny her now, the daughter of a great duke,

There will be some trouble for the two families.

But Leander thought more of the funeral of dear

Berenice than his wedding to the Lady Eugenie.

He went back to the funeral to see his dead love,

But Eugenie still sat there in front of the casket.

Leander didn't come any closer until the crippled

Eugenie suddenly stood up and called his name.

Her voice was still just like that of dear Berenice.

When Leander walked towards her, he found the

Casket empty. He looked at Eugenie beside him,

And there she was, his Berenice before his eyes.

These were her words to him, 'Thou art absolved

For reasons shall be made known to thee in Heaven.'

She then collapsed on the floor. Leander helped her

Get up, but her face turned back to Eugenie's and the

coffin again contained the body of his dear Berenice.

Eugenie woke up from the apparition and found her

Shattered legs cured and Leander smiling yet again.

After the burial, Leander married Eugenie at last.

Leander had lived happily with her, knowing that

His dear Berenice had given her blessings for them.

One early morning, Leander went up a hill to visit

Her lone quiet grave. 'I know you never liked flowers

When you breathed life. But now that you're there

Up in the heavens, I hope you wouldn't mind this

Lovely rose to brighten your grave.' Then, a shrill

Was heard, echoing right under the barren hill.


End file.
